jenna: i'm ready to go, jon. maybe the both of us could take him, because he is tall. jon: maybe. two on one. jenna: see you back up here tomorrow. jon: sounds good. jenna: "america live" starts now. megyn: fox news alert, and there is breaking news right now in the middle east as new concerns of a possible ground war involving our strongest ally take hold. we want to get right to leland vittert who's in jerusalem. i'm megyn kelly. leland, the situation on the ground there getting more dangerous. >> reporter: here we go! megyn: we're going to get right to him. there is ongoing violence, leland, take it from here. >> reporter: really right now, megyn, this is as real as it gets. you're hearing in the background the air raid sirens coming out of the city. in the past 45 seconds to a minute we've had about a dozen iron dome interceptor rockets go out. that means there were rockets

coming from gaza in towards israel trying to hit population centers. the iron dome then decided it was going to launch. if you see that flashing red light, that's where they go off from. it is this system that is the only thing protecting more than a million people from these rockets that rain down here. 200 have come down here in israel in about the 18 hours, and i can tell you when the air raid sirens start to go off, your adrenaline really starts to flow. megyn: understandable. and we wanted to get right to you because of the breaking news, but i want to give your viewers the background z to what's happening there. we've been so focused on the election here and the general petraeus issue and so on that we have not gotten to this important situation in israel. as, leland, there is a possible concern of a ground war escalating there not just involving hamas and israel, but perhaps the region. and just to bring you up-to-date, they've had close to 150 missiles fired today alone,

we're told, sorry, rockets fired today alone. the locals there ordered by authorities to stay close to a network of public bomb shelters, and israel says it will not tolerate a situation where its people are under constant threat of rocket fire. all of that is happening today just one day after a top a maas commander was taken out in an israeli air strike. the mourners were chanting at his funeral that they want to kill in the name of god and the enemy would bear the consequences. today those consequences included a deadly attack in southern israel, three people killed when their apartment was hit by a rocket, and now there are new signs that hamas' capabilities may be growing. a rocket landed just outside of tel aviv in the last hour, and meantime, a new twist. we are getting reports that egypt's prime minister plans to visit gaza, gaza, that is, tomorrow. now, don't forget a peace agreement that keeps israel and egypt on good terms.

there were real questions about whether that was going to be honored by the new muslim brotherhood president of egypt, and now we find out that this egyptian leader is going to go visit gaza in the midst of rising, escalating tensions between gaza and the israelis. now we want to get back to re land visit earth who is live near the israel/gaza border. so basically, leland, the rockets kept showering into israel, somebody, the head of hamas -- they call him hamas' osama bin laden, basically, took credit for the bloodshed being unleashed in israel. and israel bombed that guy, killed that guy, and now it seems to be escalating from there. >> reporter: exactly, megyn. his assassination happened yesterday around 4 p.m., and hamas came out and said israel has declared war and, quote, opened the gates of hell. and those kinds of words are not things that are thrown around

lightly all over the middle east. and definitely as we saw it today, hamas lived up to those words. we've got more missiles coming in. you can see everyone running. this is right now the very safest place. we're going to come in under here, and now we wait. those awful seconds that everyone in this part of the world knows what it's like to wait as the missiles coming in. you know it's here. the question is, where will it hit? and there it was. the explosion very nearby. we're going to walk around to the other side where you saw this damage. when you talk about what these missiles can do, that's it. this is the other side of the apartment building we were on. right now we have air raid sirens going off in the town, and you're looking at the iron dome. the iron dome is now trying to figure out whether it needs to launch to intercept this missile that is come anything from gaza. there it goes.

they have been headed somewhere with a populated area. we'll see if we have an interception in a second. there's the interception, you saw the flash. this entire population has lived under intense fear for a very long period of time, and that's why the israeli air force has said they are finally going in in a very intensive way, after the militants inside gaza. so far the iron dome has intercepted some 80 missiles, each one of those missiles could have done exactly what happened at that apartment building. three people killed, one baby put in critical condition. it is an awful scene when you walk through those apartment buildings. ten or twelve people injured there. of course, the air strikes continue in gaza as well. we're hearing f-16 fighter jets going out over the gaza strip and then coming back after having dropped their bombs, about 15 people dead in gaza including, unfortunately, a couple of children there as well. as you mentioned, megyn,

tomorrow the egyptian prime minister is heading into gaza which is a very unusual move. the thought is, though, that may be the only option in terms of trying to broker some type of cease fire between hamas who says, of course erik obviously, that the gates of hell have been opened, islamic jihad seen as a major escalation x. on the other side the israelis are now moving tanks and troops towards the gaza border, possibly launching a ground war. it seems almost inevitable that we are heading towards war, the prime minister of egypt heading towards gaza may be the last hope. megyn in. megyn: wow. leland, thank you. joining me now, kt mcfarlane who served as deputy assistant secretary of defense in the reagan administration, also a white house aid aide to henry kissinger. we were all paying attention to the election, re-election of barack obama war is breaking out in the middle east? what, what? >> when did that happen? [laughter]

for the last 18 months we've been focused on the united states or the arab spring or iran's nuclear weapons. we've not focused on israel. but israel looks all around its neighborhood, and it says we are beset on every single one of our borders. we are surrounded. we have a syrian war that could threaten to spill over, hezbollah in southern lebanon attacking israel. we have an unstable jordan, we have on our southern border the one thing that we had to keep the peace for the last 40 years, egypt. egypt now has a new government, the muslim brotherhood government. they have said they're going to reconsider that peace agreement they've had for the last 40 years. the sinai peninsula which is a desert, a demilitarized zone between israel and egypt, al-qaeda's set up shop there, so the fact that you now have the egyptian prime minister going to gaza and either trying to broker a deal or if no deal to be had, siding with gaza, the pal the stint yangs on gaza,

then you could potentially see another war. i do think there'll be an israel/somebody war in the next year. megyn: oh, my goodness. we follow israel in the middle east not just because we have a long history of allying with israel, but because that's an important strategic ally for us. it is to the united states' benefit to have a peaceful country like israel allied with us. explain why, why do we care so much in. >> we care so much about israel, as you said. first of all, our history, our long history with israel. it has a right to be there, it's surrounded by countries which always look to israel as a scapegoat when things go wrong. megyn: and which don't like us much. >> they don't like us very much either. but what's happened, the reason i think there'll be a war is all these arab spring countries have lousy economies, and they've gotten rid of their dictators and they have new leaders, anti-american leaders, they're going to look for a scapegoat as their economies get worse and worse and worse. what's the scapegoat?

israel. and at the same time you've got iran not on an israeli border, but an iran getting on the verge of having nuclear weapons which on a regular, weekly basis says we're going to exterminate the state of israel. now, can israel defend itself? sure, but do they need the united states to help can and resupply? yes. megyn: if egypt were to step in here? officially say the '79 treaty, the deal where we said, all right, we're cool with israel for now, if they say forget about that, how hoop a deal with that? >> then you have another arab/israeli war. we have not had one since 1973. the other thing that's sort of unknown in all of this is the syrian civil war. the worry everybody's always had about syria is not that it's going to implode, but it's going to explode. because all of the factors, all the ethnic groups, all the tribes, they're all in existence in every one of those other cups in that same -- countries in that same region. the whole region is getting very

unstable, and with no economic prospects and an iran which is busy stirring the pot. megyn: wow. very glad you were here, kt. >> thank you. megyn: i have a feeling we're going to be seeing a lot of you in the coming days. two other big stories we are following at this hour. right now we're waiting for remarks from president obama here in new york. he's here touring the devastation as a result of hurricane sandy and getting an update on recovery efforts. the president visiting staten island at this moment, one of the areas where thousands of people are still without power, many, many are homeless. more than two weeks after the storm, a lot of folks wondering where the help is. we will bring you the president's comments as he makes them. plus, we are also getting new details on a scandal involving david petraeus. we now know he will testify before the house and senate intel committees tomorrow concerning the deadly terror attack on the u.s. consulate in libya. that comes as a new "wall street journal" report raises questions about the events leading up to his resignation.

including whether he may have been pushed out not so much because of this affair, but for challenging the administration's version of events on libya. again, that is, that is news reported by our sister company, "the wall street journal" -- owned by the same parent company as fox news channel -- and we will have more on that new piece of in this story straight ahead. also, a big group of restaurants has joined the growing list of companies warning of cutbacks or layoffs to accommodate the additional costs of the health care overhaul. one restaurant you know very well is now going to pass it directly on to you, the costs of this, on your bill. you're going to get an obamacare surcharge reportedly. we're going to look into this, and we'll talk about whether these are real, bottom line changes or political opportunism. so, say it ain't so, today could mark the death of the beloved twinkie? what? we'll show you why when we come

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>> when they go after the u.n. ambassador, apparently because they think she's an easy target, then they've got a problem with me. megyn: that was president obama yesterday defending u.n. ambassador susan rice for her response in the days following the terrorist attack in benghazi in what has now become one of the largest conflicts for his administration, at least on the terrorism front. the president's remarks yesterday raise new questions over the conflicting accounts from the white house about the deadly attack. here's why. on september 11th, four americans were killed -- you know that now -- in our consulate in benghazi, including

our ambassador. it was a terrorist attack. on the 16th of september, five days later, ambassador rice went on five sunday shows, including fox news sunday, and suggested that the attack was linked to an internet video. >> best assessment we have today is that, in fact, this was not a preplanned, premeditated attack, that what happened initially was it was a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired in cairo as a consequence of the video. megyn: when challenged yesterday on the story that ms. rice told several networks, the president said he, the white house, sent her out there with that explanation. >> as i've said before, she made an appearance at the request of the white house in which she gave her best understanding of the intelligence that had been provided to her.

if senator mccain and senator graham and others want to go after somebody, they should go after me. and i'm happy to have that discussion with them. but for them to go after the u.n. ambassador who had nothing to do with benghazi and was simply making a presentation based on intelligence that she had received and to besmirch her reputation is outrageous. megyn: but if the president believed that their best intel five days after the attack suggested the video was to blame, then why did we see this moment in the presidential debates, the second one, where he claimed he was calling this terror from day one? >> i think it's interesting the president just said something which is that on the day after the attack he went in the rose garden and said that this was an act of terror.

you said in the rose garden the day after the attack it was an act of terror. it was not a spontaneous demonstration. is that what you're saying? >> please proceed, governor. >> i want to make sure we get that for the record, because it took the president 14 days before the he called the act of terror -- >> he did, in fact -- >> can you say that a little louder, candy? megyn: joining me now, simon rosenberg, a former clinton campaign adviser, and marc thiessen who's a fellow at the american enterprise institute, columnist for "the washington post" and a former speech writer for george w. bush. welcome back. >> thanks, megyn, how are you? megyn: it's interesting to see the president say don't go after susan rice because she doesn't know anything about benghazi, she had nothing to do with benghazi, and that begs the question, simon, why did you put her out on the sunday talk shows to talk about benghazi? >> well, megyn, we've had this

conversation a few times before -- megyn: but not that particular one, not that particular point. >> i think because the administration, because there were at that moment, right, the video was still causing in other parts of the world, right, and throughout north africa and the middle east there were riots and demonstrations throughout the region. the administration was attempting to explain to the american people what was going on. and as the president said yesterday that susan rice gave it her best shot, the cia has taken responsibility for producing that intelligence report which was a week late amended, in essence, where they said it wasn't really exactly what happened, and what happened was that, you know, it was a premeditated attack. but to be clear, susan rice also said in the video you showed that this was a military-style attack. there's never been confusion about that from the beginning. they never said this was a bunch of guys who climbed the fence and jumped over. they said it looked like it came out of a spontaneous demonstration. remember, the guy who conducted the attack himself gave an

interview and said he was able to round up the guys because of the anger over the video. so i just think this is making a whole lot about nothing. megyn: i know, okay, okay, let's not retread all the old ground. what simon said there was right about the guy, there was some question about the vid crow in the early days -- video in the early days. but the white house didn't say we're getting conflicting information, we're hearing on the one hand that it may be terror, but on the other hand that it may just be spontaneous protests link today a video. they came out and said, look, our best assessment is it's about a video, and there's no evidence, no evidence was the term they used, that this was preplanned. marc? >> no, that's exactly right. look, i worked in the white house. anytime you're wrapped in these kinds of statements, you always know the first reports in the field are invariably wrong. so what you do, look, we're getting conflicting reports, we simply don't know yet, and she would have been fine.

but that's not what she said, as you exactly pointed out. she said the best information we had was this was sparked by a video. and she said this five days after the attack when, in fact, within 24 hours of the attack the cia station chief had reported back to washington that there was no protest and, in fact, this was a terrorist attack. this was several days after the american eyewitnesses had been evacuated and brought to the air force base where they were debriefed and said the same thing. now, it's possible he didn't know any of that, but then why was she the one that president obama chose to go out on the air? where was secretary clinton? where was general petraeus? where was director clapper? where is secretary panetta? why was someone out of the loop the one briefing the american people on benghazi? megyn: did you find it odd when the president said take on me when he hasn't had a press conference in eight months and the press corps would clearly take him on? >> i think he was saying he wanted john mccain and lindsey graham to take him on, not the

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megyn: sue monorosenberg and marc thiessen back with me now. why is the president so upset when he is the one who put susan rise out there, and she gave false information -- knowingly or not, i'm not making a judgment on that -- and then of course she's going to take some criticism? why didn't he just send her back out when things changed to say, look, i want to clear things up? >> well, i think what happened yesterday was what the president was angry about were two senators saying they would not vote for her for confirmation for secretary of state. they were ruling her out as a possibility to be secretary of state over this which he doesn't believe is a big deal, and he

thinks her whole record has to be considered in in totality and people should give him the chance to pick his team. i do want to say something, megyn, and i'll be brief, it's possible that there was both a spontaneous demonstration and a terrorist attack. these are not mutually-exclusive things, and i think what susan rice said that day were there were people outside, there was a spontaneous demonstration which they eventually decided did not happen -- megyn: i know, but they went on the to say -- >> never anything other than a military-style attack. megyn: you made that point. >> yeah. megyn: but then they said there are no signs this was premeditated, to signs. that's not true. >> yep. >> i understand, they corrected that a week later, but they never represented this as a bunch of guys climbing over a fence -- megyn: i got it. >> and throwing rocks through the window, right? megyn: i got your point. go ahead, marc. >> look, the reason the president was bristling yesterday was because he's thinking about nominating susan rice as secretary of state in which the fact that she misled the american people about an

attack that killed four americans including a u.s. ambassador is entirely relevant to her confirmation. megyn: but let me jump in, but simon's point is how can you hold that against her? she said what she was told to say whether it was the white house or the cia. that wasn't susan rice misleading if someone was misleading. >> this is something that has to be investigated and, also, why did no one else who was in the loop go out there? these are things that need to be investigated. the point is this whole affair is a cloud over her name and her nomination. they're not the ones besmirching her reputation, her handling of it did. and nominating someone who sparked so little confidence would be an intentionally provocative act on the part of the president. i think what you saw yesterday is the president is itching for a fight with congress. he's talking about nominating john kerry as secretary of defense and susan rice, a woman

who misled the american people about a terrorist attack, as secretary of state. that is the -- those would be the acts of a man who is itching for a fight with the republican congress on foreign policy. megyn: i do want to say this, simon, is -- so he has this liberal think tank called nxn, and at ndn.org if you go to simon rosenberg blogs, you will see simon's full defense of susan rice, and it is an interesting read, and it espouses your position well, because i missouri you've taken a lot of incoming -- [laughter] >> particularly here, megyn. megyn: i recommend people check it out and make up your own minds. >> thanks, megyn. >> thank you. megyn: well, we saw one more dramatic moment on libya yesterday when our own ed henry asked the president what he would say to the families who lost loved ones in this benghazi that day about the lack of answers? here's the president's answer, in part. >> i'll address the families not through the press, i'll address the families directly, as i

already have. megyn: next hour, we will speak to one family member directly when the father of one of the navy seals who was killed in benghazi joins us live. and the dow jones average is down about 25 points today, but down more than a thousand points over the last few weeks. stu varney's next with a couple of the developing stories driving this selloff. plus, a growing number of companies now complaining that they have to fire people or raise prices that they pass on to us to accommodate the cost of the health care overhaul. we'll investigate that next. >> but we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it away from the fog of the controversy.

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and could save you thousands a year in out-of-pocket costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. megyn: fox news alert, we are expecting to hear frompresident obama any moment now. he is live in staten island, new york, one of the hardest-hit areas in the wake of hurricane sandy. we're getting these live pictures back of his motorcade. you can't see the president, but he's somewhere in there, we are told. he's going to tour some of the damage, and later he's going to make some remarks. we will bring those to you. other in queens, new york, a painful reminder of the devastation sandy left behind. huge mounds representing what were once important memories and now are nothing but garbage. fox business network's elizabeth

macdonald is live in queens, new york, with more. liz? >> reporter: that's right, megyn. and, you know, just walking around here i'm picking up just around me photographs that we are finding littered on the ground that are here in this unfortunate, this big landfill. it's a new landfill, it's now the biggest in new york state. it holds the remains of entire neighborhoods and business districts. there are about 11 towns on this peninsula that's called the rockaways. and what we're seeing here, megyn, is essentially what happens after a hurricane or a big storm devastates an area. it really is a local operation, not a federal one. and the first responders we're finding are the sanitation guys who come in and basically clear the debris, and we're here with chief joe hickey who was with the new york sanitation department. we're about 7 miles, by the way, outside of the freedom tower which looks, is off in the distance. and, chief hickey, can you tell us a little bit about how this is a local response, and when

did fema come many? when did you see them? >> okay, the new york city department of sanitation was prepared days before the storm hit, and immediately after the storm we were on the streets. fema started showing up with equipment approximately 5-7 days later. >> reporter: all right. so the issue is you were saying the reason why the houses butter in breezy point and in the rockaways is what? >> accessibility. the fire department could not get to it. >> reporter: rye? >> debris, sand, water in the streets. >> reporter: so they really needed you guys to clear it before you could stop the burning of those houses. so what we're seeing, megyn, is learnly -- essentially, the weight of this is approaching the weight of the empire state building, the amount of garbage and debris, and what we're seeing is memory, houses in these piles, also you're going to see washing machines, refrigerators off in the distance. and, megyn, the other story, too, is the epa and the county of health is here, right, chief hickey? why are they here in that regard? >> the epa's here to capture any

chemicals, motor oil, toxic, and here to monitor also. >> reporter: megyn, we're going to be here throughout the day giving live updates. megyn: wow, liz, what a report. can you imagine seeing all your family photos sitting in a dump because your whole house, the remnants of it got bulldozed away? thank you, panel. the president will speak to this. it's a difficult challenge for the president because yesterday he spoke to how there is a role in the federal government still in this country, and he cited the aftermath of hurricane sandy as an example in which the federal government can help. and yet, you know, you can't go too far in praising the recovery efforts, because it upsets people who are still waiting for help. and those who don't feel that enough has been done. so we'll see what the president says, i think a little later this hour. ♪ the deadly storm hurricane sandy is now being blamed for an increase in weekly jobless claims as well. the number of americans filing

for unemployment benefits jumped by 78,000 this week to 439,000 total. that's the highest level in a year and a half, since december 2007, five years ago. weekly jobless claims have stayed above 300,000, and economists say weekly claims have to fall consistently below 375,000 shown by this yellow line here to show that the job market is strong enough to actually lower the unemployment rate in any meaningful way. wall street has seen a slow, but relentless selloff in recent days as well, down roughly 700 points since the election ten days ago. more than a thousand points from about a month ago. and there is a long list of reasons for that. stu varney with the fox business network, host of varney "varney& company" in the mornings. i don't have any stocks, i'm not invested in any way, so anybody who has a 401(k) is invested,

and that effects this economy. put that in perspective, 700 points in the last week, a thousand in the last month. >> first of all, you're right. it's not just the elite, the rich that own stock. all of middle america has a piece of the stock market, as you say, through their 401(k), their ira, the company pension plan. that's what pension plans invest in. we live or die by the stock market. now, it's down 700 points since election day. that is a very significant drop. connect the dots for a second. you've got bad economic news, the re-election of president obama and now the wall street selloff. they are connected. you mentioned 439,000 new jobless claims. that suggests a very weak economy. then you've got president obama saying we're going to tax the rich no matter what, we're going to tax the rich. then you've got the congressional budget office saying if you tax the rich, we lose 200,000 jobs next year. add it all up, and then you have a wall street selloff. and the separate reasons why

wall street is selling off, that is dividends tax going up, p capital gains taxes going up. connect all the dot, and you've got -- megyn: those are taxes people pay on the money they make from their investments. >> yes, okay. if i buy a stock for $100, i sell it for $200, that is a a capital gain, and i'm taxed on it. next year it might be 20% or even 23.9%. megyn: and the argument is if the tax goes too high, then you decide not to invest, you decide to put your money maybe in real estate or in the mattress or someplace else, and that hurts the economy not to have your money out there. >> more to the point, if i sell now, this year, and pay 15% capital gain tax, that is much were the than waiting til next year when i might pay a much higher capital gains tax. so i sell now, that pushes the stock market down. megyn: you know, talk to me about the cbo report that taxing the rich more is going to lead

to jobs, is going to cost jobs. i because that's the congressional budget office is supposed to be this nonpartisan group. i mean, there's got to be another side to that story. >> they're the bean counters. they get the numbers from the administration, put those numbers into an equation and say, right, this is what's going to happen. and this is what they said. you tax the top 2% of income earners at a higher rate, get rid of the old bush tax cut rate -- megyn: yeah, but even just the rate that president clinton taxed? president obama says, okay, you going to go from 35 percent to 39.6, and that's what you rich people paid under president clinton. >> yeah, but wait a second, you go from 35 to 39%, that's a big tax hike on people making a lot of money. that takes $87 billion every year out of the private sector and gives it to the government. that means less growth, that means fewer jobs. 200,000 fewer jobs. megyn: sorry, it's not a good time to talk. [laughter] i never forget to turn this off,

sorry. sorry, stu, that was a very rude way to end our segment. [laughter] >> i can take it. megyn: thank you. [laughter] and i apologize to you too. well, new fallout over the president's health care law. a denny's franchise owner has joined a chorus of companies, including papa john's and walmart, that plan to make major changes to their work force or to charge more for their products they say because of increased costs they're facing thanks to obamacare. we'll have a fair and balanced debate on that next. and a pregnant woman runs down and nearly kills her husband with the family car over politics? it happened, and we'll have it for you. >> they started arguing in the vehicle, and the argument started over the husband's lack of participation in the recent election. he did not vote. [ male announcer ] you like who you are... and you learned something along the way. this is the age of knowing what you're made of.

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♪ >> if you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. if you like your health care plan, you will be able to keep your health care plan, period. no one will take it away, no matter what. megyn: well, that was president obama back in 2009 assuring americans that they will be able to keep their doctors and their health care plans under his health care law. but this week has seen a series of businesses complaining that they simply cannot afford the costs associated with that law, and they are making some cutbacks to provide. one boss who runs dozens of denny's restaurants says that he will offset costs by adding a 5% surcharge to customers' bills, and he will reduce his employee hours. at papa john's, the ceo says workers' hours may be cut sin only full-time -- since only full-time employees have to be cut. so guess what? you now don't work 40 hours a

week, you work 28 hours a week. at wal-mart, employees could pay up to 36% more in their own premiums next year, some saying they will opt to skip coverage altogether, and that is just the beginning. take a look at the screen. these companies here have already announced lay offs or say they plan to make cost cuts due to the costs imposed by the president's health care law. joining me now for a fair and balanced debate, leslie marshall a fox news contributor, lars larson, a syndicated radio host, and full disclosure, leslie's also married to a doctor, so we don't know if she's conflicted on this issue, but we've done a lot of obamacare discussions with this panel. [laughter] now these employees are coming up, the guy who owns the denny's tells us really, you know, sad story. he says, look, if i had to pay the $5,000 fine that you have to pay if you have more than 50 employees that are full time and don't cover them, he says it would cost me $175,000 per restaurant that i own, they

don't even make that, i have no choice but to cut back hours and to pinch the customers a bit more. your thoughts on it, lars? >> well, as we heard from barack obama a long time ago, elections have consequences. and these days people are getting pink slips, and they're being told about the bad news on their health care because of those consequences. it's about as simple as that. i know that leslie thinks that every business owner has a closet full of $100 bills that he just shovels out more when the government demands more. [laughter] the law is, for instance, carr den restaurants is saying it's going to cut its hours, and why? because a lot of their employees already have health insurance right now, but the obamacare law says you must increase that from a chevrolet plan, if you will, to a cadillac plan, and the restaurant has said we can't afford a cadillac plan with the profit margins in restaurants, so we're going to cut people's hours, people are going to lose their jobs, their hours, the health care they had right now. the president lied when he said

you could keep your plan. megyn: leslie? >> the president didn't lie because companies can, regardless of obamacare, change a company's plan. i own two businesses, don't have that closet full of money, lars, i'm going to go look for it later. >> good. >> let's talk about profits. walmart has had record profits even during the recession. the other day i'm channel sur everring -- surfing, and you know who i see? the owner of papa john's standing there with a very big sports figure, and i'm sure that sports figure got six or seven digits for appear anything that commercial. you don't need to pass costs on to your consumers as a business owner when my businesses have had weaker times, i sacrificed my own paycheck to see that my staff -- megyn: you are a good person. you are a good person. >> yes. megyn: we cannot guarantee that all the employers out there are willing to take the hit themselves and not pass it along -- i'm not saying these are bad guys, i'm just saying that business is business, i

guess they say, lars. >> well, megyn, i've cut my own paycheck. but to do the same thing leslie's done. but the problem is in these big companies, it's a profit margin. when obamacare comes along and says this is the new cost, you have not just owners, but stockholders to answer to, and they're not in this for their health. they're in this not to run a charity, but to run a for-profit business that has to return to investors. and if it doesn't, then the business goes away. ask the folks at hostess about their twinkie business after the unions get done with them. this is a zero sum game. money in has b talk about greater than money out, and obamacare is forcing businesses into a choice they don't want to make. megyn: we're going to have a report on the twinkies in our next block. it's news people need to know. >> good. [laughter] megyn: leslie, what is this going to do to an already-questionable level of support for obamacare? the country's still split on that, whether they like it or not. but you go to denny's and see a

5% surcharge to pay for obamacare, or if you work there and suddenly you're no longer making 40 hours worth a week of money, what's that going to do? >> well, first of all, i find it, honestly, as a business owner disgusting that somebody would politicize and want to blame a political figure, a president or otherwise on a plan that's not even going to go into effect fully for another more than, what, a year now? that's absolutely ridiculous. some of the companies that were posted, they did their layoffs in 2009. did they have a crystal ball and know the president was going to be reelected? the bottom line here is if you have the money to spend on an ad, as papa john's did, and the bottom line is -- for papa john's, let's use that as an example. megyn: quickly. >> two of their competitors are dominoes and little caesars who are not cutting, but hiring. maybe his competition's making better pizza. and denny's has that $2, $4 and

$6 men queue. megyn: i have to get to the twinkies which were the cause for some rough summers for me in the '70s. my parents would say i was unrecognizable. now someone's cracking down on them, and that's next. don't go away.

♪ megyn: time now for our twinkie report, but first someone may have had a little too much sugar here earlier. we had a banner up during the stu varney segment that said the dow was down 20% since election day, no, no. it's actually down 5.4%. or at the bakery, this could be a dark day for all those twinkie lovers out there. hostess nettenning to shut off the lights -- threatening to shut off the lights and turn off the ovens for good.

trace gallagher has the news from our west coast newsroom. >> reporter: and the reason hose access filed for bankruptcy back in january to begin with was because they could not come to terms when it came to wages, benefits and health care. now, since then they have come to terms with the teamsters which is their biggest union, but they have not struck a deal with the bakers' union, and that's who is on strike. 23 of the companies, 36 bakeries around the country striking, and if the strike continues until 5:00 today, hostess is asking a judge to allow them to shut the company down for good and sell off all the assets saying, and i'm quoting here, we simply do not have the financial resources to survive an ongoing national strike. now, 13,000 of hostess' 18,000 employees are not on strike, but their jobs are in great jeopardy. and one of those employees said, quote. you know, it's sprus traiting because everybody here feels like, what are you going to strike for?

it's not like you can gain pay wage or anything like that. so we're still waiting for the bakers' union to give us a response, but they have said they are tired of taking these draconian cuts. just so you know, year one, 8% pay cut. year two the, 3% increase, year five a 1% increase overall. they take a 4% cut. not great, but as one employee said, at least it's a job. and just so you know, megyn, the twinkies, the ding dongs, the ho-hoes or wonder bread, they might be auctioned off. they wouldn't go away forever, some other company would take away the name, but it doesn't really ring the same, betty crocker ding dongs doesn't have the same kind of flair. megyn: i don't know. i'm so conflicted over this because i tell you, i was just a young child at the time, you know, 9, 10, but i ate a lot of those twinkies. a lot of twinkies. and you should have seen the look on my parents' faces when i got back from my that nana's.

she's going to be with us for a long time. >> reporter: picked up a few lbs. megyn: sure did. we're going to talk about these officials on capitol hill, general petraeus testifying tomorrow and president obama on staten island. stay with us.

megyn: fox news alert. we want to take you live to staten island, new york. one of the hardest hit areas in the wake of hurricane sandy. many asking where the government has been to help them with the misery. you can see layers of government there buff. mayor michael bloomberg in the back. chuck schumer, new york state senator and our governor andrew cuomo in the center. we expect the president to speak momentarily about the relief efforts there. let's go live to staten island and listen to the governor. >> ladies and gentlemen, the

president of the united states. [applause] >> thank you so much, everybody. i'm going to be relatively brief. i came up rear after the storm, was on the jersey side, and i promised to everybody that i was speaking on behalf of the country when i said we are going to be here until the rebuilding is complete. and i meant it. so i'm going to come back today but i'm all going to be coming back in the future to make sure we have followed through on that commitment. i want to thank the outstanding leadership that's been provided by state and local officials. obviously governor como and mayor bloomberg have done an outstanding job. the borough president, i want to thank you for your leadership at

a time when the folks here on this island were obviously going through extraordinarily difficult times. the people of long island who are going through really tough times. across the board what we have seen is cooperation. and a spirit of service. and for the first responders who are here, the police officers, the firefighters, the ems folks, the sanitation workers who sometimes don't get credit but have done heroic work, we are so grateful to you because you exemplify what america is all about. i'm grateful to the red cross who has been so responsive not just here but in disasters across the country. i want to thank all the volunteers. as we were shaking hands we had folks from all parts of the country. we had some canadians who had come down to help out. during difficult times like this we are reminded that we are bound together. and we have to look out for each

other. a lot of the things that seem important, the petty differences melt away and we focus on what binds us together that we as americans can stand with each other in our hour of need. now, more specifically, we are now still in the process of recovery. as you can see, as you travel around parts of staten island as we through over parts of other parts of the city and the region that had been impacted. there is still a lot of cleanup to do. people need emergency help. they still need heat, they need power. they need food. they still need shelter, kids are still trying to figure out where they are going to go to school. so there is a lot of short-term immediate stuff that has to be dealt with and we are going to make sure that we stay here as long as people need that immediate help.

that's fema's primary task. we'll be coordinating closely with state and local governments. what we also heard is there will be some long-term rebuilding that's required. you look at this block and you know that this is a community that is deeply rooted. most of the folks i met here have been here 20, 30, 50 years. they don't want to see their community uprooted. but there has got to be a plan for rebuilding. that plan will have t to be coordinate and there will be resources. i'll work with the congressional delegation, also working with governor christie and the jersey delegation to try to couple a game plan for how we are going to be able to resource the rebuilding process. and i'm confident as governor como said that we'll be able to

do it. but it will require everybody focus on getting the job done. we'll have to put some of the turf battles aside and make sure everybody is focused on doing the job as opposed to worrying about who is getting the credit or who is getting the contracts that sometimes goes into the rebuilding process. on the federal level because this will be such a big job i want to assign one particular person who would be in charge from our perspective. who would be our points person. fema runs the recovery process, it doesn't focus on the rebuilding. for that we need all agencies involved. janet napolitano has done a great job with respect to dhs. but we thought it would be good to have a new yorker as the point person. our outstanding hud secretary sean donovan who used to be the head of the new york housing authority, so he knows a little

bit about new york and building, is going to be our point person and he's going to be working with the mayor, the governor, the borough presidents, the county officials to make sure we come up with a strong, effective plan and then i'll be working with members of congress to do everything we can to get the resources needed to rebuild. and i have every confidence that sean will be doing a great job. people should feel some confidence about that. let me just close by saying this. i had the opportunity to give some hugs and communicate thoughts and prayers to the moore family. they lost two young sons during the course of this tragedy. obviously i expressed to them as a far it, as a parent, my

heartbreak over what they went through. and they are still obviously shell shocked. but they came here in part because they wanted to say thank you to all the people who have been supportive of them. they in particular mentioned lieutenant kevin gallagher of the nypd who when they knew that their sons were missing, lieutenant gallagher made a point of staying with them and doing everything he could so that ultimately they knew what had happened with the boys and were able to recover their bodies and has been with them as a source of support ever since. that's not in the job description of lieutenant gallagher. he did that because that's what so many of our first responders do. they go above and beyond the call of duty to respond to people in need.

and i want to give a shout out to lieutenant gallagher and i want to point out the moores asked me to mention lieutenant gallagher and that says something about them as well. in that spirit, and sense of togetherness, and look out for one another, that's what's going to carry us through this tragedy. it won't be easy. there will still be complaints over the next several months. not everybody is going to be satisfied. i have to tell you the insurance companies and some of the other private sector folks who are involved in this, we need you to show some heart and spirit in helping people rebuild as well. but when i hear the story of the moores and i hear about lieutenant gallagher, that's what makes me confident we'll be able to rebuild. i'm proud of you, new york. you guys are tough. you bounce back just as america always bounces back. the same will be true this time

out. thank you very much, everybody. megyn: the president in staten island, new york touring firsthand the region. you can see the red sticker on the house. they put those on houses that cannot be entered under any circumstances. some have yellow stickers that allow residents to come back in to get belongings. the red stickers mean don't come in at all. we are told tens of thousands are homeless as a result of hurricane sandy and the relief efforts continue. another fox news alert for you. this from capitol hill where we are awaiting a hearing in the senate intelligence committee regarding the deadly terror atook the our consulate in libya that killed four americans on 9/11 of this year. welcome back. i'm megyn kelly.

we begin this hour by talking about the latest in this situation and who knew what and when. and most importantly who dropped the ball once word of this ongoing attack made its way to washington. we are getting new details on that today. we are seeing three separate hearings on the issue, all in an effort to get some answers. tomorrow the grilling will continue with the voluntary testimony from former cia director david petraeus who has agreed to appear. catherine herridge is live on capitol hill with more. >> reporter: we have three hearings. two are classified and closed to the public. we cannot emphasize enough at what a high level the briefings are taking place. before the house and senate intelligence committees we have the top intelligence and law enforcement authorities in the u.s. government from the

director national intelligence, the acting director of the cia. an under secretary of the state department and earlier at the one open hearing republicans and democrats laid out their positions. >> the arrogance and dishonesty reflected in all of this is a little bit breathtaking. it's about time that the president of the united states decides to level with the american people. let, find out the facts. >> these unfair attacks on ambassador susan rice are simply wrong. she had to rely on the intelligence that was provided. >> that intelligence in large part was provided by former cia director david petraeus and confirmation that the retired general will appear before the house and senate intelligence committees also in a classified or closed hearing. director petraeus agreed to come

voluntarily and there would not a subpoena required. also confirmation that the secretary of state hillary clinton will testify on capitol hill about a month from now wouldn't accountability review board -- this is the internal state department review, is completed. and that word came earlier today at the house foreign affairs committee. >> secretary clinton has committed to testifying before our commit reon the accountability review board's report which is expected to be concluded by early to mid december. >> reporter: one theme that came out today in conversations with members of congress. the more and more they look at the raw intelligence reporting, immediately after the benghazi attack the harder it is to understand why the obama white house consistently pushed forward this idea that the demonstration was really responsible, and it was

spontaneous and linked to this anti-islam video when that initial reporting clearly pointed to al qaeda and this group called ansar al-sharia. megyn: we have been talking how they went even farther and jay carney told us there was no evidence that this was preplanned. catherine, thanks so much. yesterday president obama testified his administration's handling of the consulate attack that killed four americans. take a listen to this exchange went president and ed henry. >> i wanted to ask about the families of these four americans killed. sean smith's father ray said he believes his son basically called 911 for help and didn't get it. and i know you said you grieve for these four americans. that it's being investigated. but the families have been waiting for two months. i would like to -- for you to address the families if you can.

on 9/11 as commander in chief did you issue any orders to try to protect their lives? >> ed, you know, i'll address the families not through the press, i'll address the families directly as i already have. and we'll provide all the information that is available about what happened on that day. that's what the investigation is for. but as i said repeatedly, if people don't think that we did everything we can to make sure that we saved the lives of folks who i sent there and who were carrying out miss on behalf of the united states, then you don't know how our defense department thinks or our state department thinks or our cia thinks. their number one priority is to protect american lives. i can tell you that immediately upon finding out, that our folks

were in danger, that my orders to my national security team were do whatever we need to do to make sure they are safe. megyn: joining me by phone, charles woods, the father of former navy seal tie reason woods who was one of the four americans killed in that attacks and was a hero trying to save the lives of the am bass deern others on that fateful evening. i apologize, the cell phone connection is a little sketchy. by want to get your response to the president's comments. >> thank you very much, megyn. i haven't really had a chance to listen to this interview. i lilsenned to about two minutes of it yesterday. i was too busy being mr. mom over here, my two dmairts hawaii. but i did write down statement that was made here. and that was apparently the president said i did whatever was needed to protect the lives of those people that i sent.

and i really would consider that to be a disingenuous remark. the reason i say that. i wasn't there. but yesterday jennifer griffin who is an investigative reporter, she sent me the time line issued by the department of defense and also the time line that was issued by the cia. and when you look at this, it doesn't look like the president did everything that he could have done in order to protect those lives. in my opinion, he was more concerned about protecting the lives of the libyans than protecting the lives of the americans that he sent. the reason that i say that is because when i'm look at this time line it says that about --

the attack -- i'm reading the time line from the department of defense for september 11. it says the incidents starts at facilities in benghazi. at 3:42 p.m., washington, d.c. or 9:42 in libya. then 17 minutes later at 3:59 p.m. an unarmed, unmanned surveillance aircraft is direct to reposition over the benghazi facility. in the other time line that was issued about it cia it says 17 minutes after the incident was started that general ham in washington, d.c. was the one that within 17 minutes directed an unmanned surveillance drone. now, in 17 minutes react. we needed to get information. if they could send an unhands, unarmed drone, why could they

not have scrambled jets and in less than a half-hour have those jets in the air providing support that was necessary. instead, leon panetta according to this time line waited until after 2:00 in the morning before he issued the go order and that was just basically to get a team together. and it wasn't until 6:30 in the morning according to the timeline that a 6-man security team from the u.s. embassy in tripoli beparts for benghazi. he did not do everything. if they could in 17 minutes general ham in washington, d.c. knew about it, could send a drone, unarmed drone, they could $sent armed aircraft that could have been up in the air and protected my son. and i know that they do have that sort of capability. a while back, a couple years ago was down visiting my son in

imperial beach where he lives and we were watching a video. this is not a classified video. this is on something similar to the history channel. he was giving me a play by play of how these aircraft within these jets in the air -- megyn: they clearly had the military capabilities. they said you don't go in with airplanes and start shooting when you don't know the situation. and there could be civilians. my apologies. our connection is so bad i think we'll have to hang up and get something cleaner. it's tough to even hear you. i want to continue the conversation. i'm grateful for you coming on the program and sharing your thoughts. my apologies to the viewers. i know it's annoying when you can't heart other person. we'll try to do better the next time. i want to bring you this. we have this other news regarding general petraeus. you heard catherine's report.

he will testify behind closed doors and republican lawmakers are hoping that testimonies will shed light on what he went so wrong. we have all been focused on the fact that we just lost our cia director base had an affair. but the reason he has been in the news so much lately is because the cia was intimately involved in what happened in benghazi, libya. it was the cia that came under attack. there was a question about whether more needed to be done. some significant new reporting by the "wall street journal" suggests libya may have played a major role in petraeus' resignation or some role or connection. there is a suggestion the former cia boss may have been pushed out because he tried to challenge the administration's time line of the attack. because he wanted to push back on this. joining me now chuck nash, a form u.s. navy captain.

chuck, captain, thank you very much. the "wall street journal," a sister come of any ours talks about how petraeus was reportedly want to go come out and push back harder in defense of the cia and what it did on the night in question in benghazi. but was being told not to. they didn't want him stepping out in that way. yet he wanted ton ultimately did. they it out a time line. now there is a question about whether politics were at play in petraeus suddenly being told he needed to go right before his testimony. your thoughts? >> all of these things line up and there have been so many disclosures that have happened after the election to where it's almost like a news dumb on a friday evening. it just raises suspicion and goes to i think show the general broad concern from quite a few folks that maybe we are not

getting the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. so general petraeus will get his chance to clear the record. megyn: we'll hold you over. we have breaking news from the president. we'll hold you over.

megyn: the "wall street journal" is reporting that petraeus wanted to get out there and defend the cia. what you have here is government agencies starting to war with each other. the state department, the pentagon and the cia and the question who is responsible for what happened that night in libya for preventing and failing to prevent what happened. and the report is that general petraeus wanted to get out there aggressively in defense of the cia and ultimately did by release that time line and the

intel officials were not too happy with petraeus and the suggestion is suddenly when they became unhappy about what he started to do on libya to defend the cia, suddenly his affair was a deal breaker. suddenly that went up to the upper etch lons and clapper told him he needed to resign and petraeus wanted to keep his job but did what his boss told him to do which was resign. does that make sense to you? is that feasible? >> you are not the on person saying it. megyn: i'm not saying it at all. the "wall street journal" is saying it. >> charles krauthammer made a similar statement. maybe the thing that was being held as the sword of damocles was the preknowledge of this. i don't know. that's all speculation. here is the point i was trying to make before the break. there is a lot of suspicion about the information and when it comes out and, you know, in

washington there aren't coincidences. these coincidents are falling daily. this is unusual. so that raise.everyone suspicion and rediewtss the trust level. so everybody is look as the everything and trying to connect the dots. the dots are going to be connected for the committee members on the hill when general petraeus goes in with no mantel of cia around his shoulders. goesen in says it's me, dave petraeus and here is what i'm here to tell you. forget the news you are hearing on the side. i'm already getting secured. here i was day one national hero, day two, i'm out under a cloud. so he's got nothing to lose. megyn: obviously general petraeus admitted to a serious

indiscretion. i don't know what their marriage was about or is about -- i don't know and i don't care it's none of my business. give admitted to that. but the man has served the country honorably for most of his life. as a four star general he saved countless lives in iraq and the lives of american military. he deserves some benefit of the doubt, doesn't he? when he goes on capitol hill and talks about what happened in libya from his perspective it will carry a lot of weight. >> the thing is, a lot of people say it was a mistake it was all that. i don't know what it was. personally i think it's more than a mistake. i think maybe ego and some other things possibly got in the way of a very honorable man. and then he chose to do something for which as a general had one of his junior officers don't, he would have preferred

charges, reduced him in rank and sent him home. he did to himself what he would have done to anyone under his command if the situation warranted and the situation bent same with another person. so he already exercised that judgment on himself. when he goes in to that and they close the doors and start talking about it, there will be the truth and nothing but the truth because he is an honorable man. he does -- in his heart i know he probably feels just terrible about this whole thing. wants to atone and there will be truth spoken in there. megyn: it seems like everyone has such respect for his military abilities. and he served the country so honorably, and so many people feel days pointed that america has lost his services because of his terrible decisions on the personal front. and that's just something you have to feel disappointed about. just disappointed that he made the choice that cost all of us his service.

>> megyn web's not the first, he won't be the last, and nobody in military uniform is irreplaceable. megyn: chuck nash, thanks for being here. great to see you. rockets from gaza targeted a heavily populated city in israel. we are live on the ground again in three minutes. new questions for the media following the president's first press conference in 8 months. why to media critics are asking if the white house press corps has lost its touch. >> what specifically do you plan to do to tackle the issue of climate change and do you think the political will exists in washington to pass legislation that could include some kinds of a tax on carbon? [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso. i just finished a bowl of your new light chicken pot pie soup and it's so rich and creamy... is it really 100 calories? let me put you on webcan...

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people died. critically injured was a young children. you walk through there. the devastation breaks your heart. you see the coloring books of this kid stained in blood. this rocket didn't just come today it's been going on for weeks. it has gone all the way into hair hearts and we felt it as well today. you can see everyone running. this is the safest place. we'll come in under here as the missiles coming in. the question is, where will it hit? there it was. the explosion very near by. we'll walk stewart other side. where you saw this damage, when you talk about what these missiles can do. that's it. this is the other side of the apartment building we were on. you are looking as the gaza strip where the missile flew out of and into this apartment building. you get a sense of how random the killing is and how absolute

the destruction is. is there not much left here. this was an air-conditioner. it's gone. it blew down into the floor below us and this is where one of the people who died in the apartments were standing. as you look through here you see just how much is blown away. >> kids, families here live in constant fear of being bombed. which is -- it was unthinkable of somebody shooting rockets at you. >> reporter: we are hearing the sowfnt israeli f-16s flying their sorties into the gaza strip. you see the explosions and the planes coming back to rearm and refile. there are a lot of casualties in the gaza strip. a lot of palestinians, militants and children there as this war is quickly spiraling out of control. megynmegyn: 24 hours after the t

white house the news conference in eight months, the media facinfacing followups from its critics. >> exactly what do you envision is broad immigration reform? does that include a legalization program? and what lessons if any did the democrats learn from this election and the latino vote. >> what do you plan to do in a second term to tackle the issue of climate change and do you think the political will exists in washington to passa legislation that would include tax on carbon. >> two years ago you said i wouldn't extends the bush era tax cuts but at the end of the day you did. why should the american people and the republicans believe you

won't cave again this time. >> on election night you said i were looking forward to speaking with governor romney, sitting down in the coming weeks to discuss ways you could work together on this nation's problems. have you extended that invitation? has he accepted and in what ways can you work together. >> thank you, mr. president. and congratulations by the way. >> christy was there when i was running for state senate. christy and i go back a long ways. >> i have never seen you lose. i wasn't looking that one time. megyn: oh, boy. joining me now, a democratic strategist and former aide to jim mcgreevey. bill mcgurn is a former speech writer for president bush. bill, your comments for the "wall street journal," if you had somebody from fox news channel going up to a president romney or george w. bush and

saying congratulations. never seen you lose. there would be a little belowback. was that bias or just a nice moment. >> i think in the context it's this clubby atmosphere which is a problem. i have spent a long time in journalism mostly in opinion conservative side. i always thought it was wrong to whine about press bias. more people in the media are liberal than conservative. but now we are at the point where a president with so many important questions is let completely off the hook and given soft balls. the two things on the minds of people, the economic situation and fiscal cliff. the president goes on talking about republicans saying he's open to compromise. not a single question situation are you willing to give? john boehner was asked an said he's willing to give a little on loopholes. but not a single question. he says he takes a balanced approach and that's what the people in the room think.

he's balanced. same thing on benghazi. we have all these questions on benghazi and they are not answering. you have to go to denver to get a local radio host? megyn: there were two questions about benghazi. one was from ed henry. but they only had eight questions. i knew that sitting in this anchor chair. they my that. they are the white house press corps. you are telling me these are all issues that matter to some americans. climate change, immigration and so on. but when you only have eight questions and there isn't a question about how we are going to gets the debt under control or what we are going to do about the 23 million americans. >> i agree about whether he was going to meet with mitt romney was a waste of a question. megyn: if you had 20, go for it. >> i think we all agree on all sides that that was definitely a waste of a question.

i want to push back on this softballing president obama. i think the media has always been distracted by shiny objects. if you look at the coverage of this petraeus scandal. so much time is being devoted to the petraeus scandal it's like crack cocaine to the media. my issue is more about the focus on anything focus. >> the number two question, is that the number two most important question on the minds of the viewers. >> it came from telemundo. answer they are concerned about that. that's why the business community wants to see immigration reform. >> we have a fiscal cliff and $16 trillion in debt.

something immediately in front of us. the number within priority. it hasn't been addressed as a top priority in the last administration with this currents congress that's been here and now that should have been the first question and that should have been the majority of the questions. >> and there should have been a followup. 7 questions on the tone. every politician i have been on both sides in the white house watching the press from that side. everyone has the answer to the inquiries question it's when you drill down deep and ask them -- megyn: the followup. i want to ask you as someone who worked for president george w. bush, did he get it worse than this? >> the difference is the drum beat. people ask president obama about benghazi. president bush would have been pursued everywhere. we have people -- we have the secretary of state -- we had a secretary of state saying i take responsibility and takes off. and that's okay?

>> don't you think it' the fail of the american people. don't you think we are accepting meade october ar -- don't youthg mediocrity? talking about the sex scandal. now want to hear about what happened in benghazi. what can they do? we have all the tools. megyn: tara, you are shake your head, you are saying you think president bush got a pass from the press? >> he got a pass on the gulf war. we found out the intelligence was faulty and john mccain is beating a drum beats about president obama was one of the first ones to count and defend at the time condoleezza rice saying she got faulty intelligence. i'm not saying the press has

been perfect. i have a problem with this focus on sex and salaciousness. megyn: thank you also much. "kelly's court" is next.

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and tools to estimate what my care may cost. so i never missed a beat. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for more than 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. megyn: individuals from all 50 states are filing petitions top secede from the union on the white house will have to answer them. trace gallagher live in our west coast newsroom. >> reporter: we did this story a few days ago, at that time there were only 20 states asking to see seed from the union. now, you look at the maps. all 50 states have residents signing these petitions and now

7 states including alabama, florida, georgia, louisiana, north carolina, tennessee, and texas are crossed that 25,000 signature * threshold. those states will have their petitions reviewed by white house staff. across the country more than 700,000 americans have signed. texas has the most with 100,000. rick perry not supporting it, saying quote, governor perry believes in the greatness of our union and nothing should be done to change the. by also shares the frustrations many americans have with our federal government. if texas does secede from the union, austin has its own petition saying they want to secede from texas. megyn: we'll put the issue to the court. "kelly's court" is back in session. on the docket, are they allowed to secede from the union? mercedes colwin and mark

eiglarsh. so, here is what confused me about the writeup. there are 66 requests for secession. it's been a while. but there are not 66 states. where are the extra 16 coming from? and can they do it? >> i'm not sure where the extra 16 are but there is precedence for it. the tenth amendment very clear. it says the power not delegated to the united states by the constitution nor prohibited to it by the states are reserved to the states respectively or to the people. even the 10th amendment says anything that is not found to be unlawful under the constitution or not preempted by federal law is delegated to the states. texas has a state constitution that has been been challenged about it u.s. government and instead it states clearly texas people are free to change their

government as they choose. megyn: there is the pesky matter of that supreme court ruling in 1868. the supreme court considered this right around that time. i can't remember why. >> i have a response for you. >> let's let the people hear what it is. first all i have a wonderful team interns that found this case. it's 1869 but it's still good law. texas versus white. texas wanted to do the same thing they wanted to do today. they wanted to pull out of the union. justice chase wrote the following. when fox became one of the united states she entered into a binding and lasting relationship. agreement was final. and justice further wrote there was no place for reconsidering or revocation except through revolution or consents of the

state. there is no revolution and the states aren't agreeing. go for it, mercedes. megyn: all these people are signing these petitions. what without take? we'll talk about that after the break. questions? anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. approved! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'.

megyn: how if at all could they do it? >> they need the u.s. supreme court. in the original case -- if brown -- it can happen. these decisions are revisited. frankly -- megyn: it would take a revolution, would it not? it would take a civil war. >> it would take a civil war. it didn't work out too well.

let's look at the big picture. people think that 100,000 signatures fairly represents what texans wants? that represents a third 1% of texas. as one person on facebook wrote to me. those people are crazy. that's not what we want. megyn: don't rip on the good people of texas. what if they had a majority. let's say 99% of the folks down in texas wanted to secede from the union and what if president obama said go. you don't want to be here, you can go. what would happen to the people in texas who wanted to stay but would have to leave, they would have to move. >> they would move. if the federal government had a problem with this issue of secession they should have stepped forward to say that's unconstitutional under federal law and they haven't done that. megyn: they are required to

actually respond to this. mark, the white who is says it will. it will have to go on the record with this. >> of course. they will say yes, thank you, we respectfully decline your invitation to pull away. if you don't like what the popular vote did, it's called a democracy, get over it. megyn: for people upset about the election results one way or another, is it dramatic? do wee you think we'll see more and more of these requests as the country is so divide in. >> 4.5 million people say we don't want this administration. we have 50 states making these petitions. we'll see more of them. megyn: 66. thank you. see ya. we'll be right back.

another petition pending in addition to the petitions for succession, the 66th